It was reported on May 27 that the Ultimate Fighting Championship had released a number of fighters, as it further trimmed its flyweight division to a mere 13 athletes and cut a few heavyweight prospects who never quite planned out.
One name in particular on the list of released fighters drew a significant amount of backlash from fans and pundits: Elias Theodorou. According to the official UFC rankings, Theodorou had lost to a Top 10 opponent in Derek Brunson and was ranked in the Top 15 himself. Having gone 8-3 in his UFC career, Theodorou had only been beaten by strong opposition inside the Octagon: the aforementioned Brunson, Brad Tavares and current light heavyweight title contender Thiago Santos.